Women in Black, an international peace network that organized Baltimore's Sept. 11 Peace Path along Charles Street, will hold a peace vigil in four Maryland towns tomorrow.

Women and men are expected to stand together in silence in or near shopping centers in Baltimore, Frederick, Towson and Westminster on the traditional first day of Christmas shopping called Black Friday.

"What we are trying to say is that holidays are also a time for reflection and all of us, I think, talk about a message of peace during the holidays," said Betsy Cunningham, a Baltimore woman who helped organize the Peace Path.

"We would like people to keep in mind that there are more than 30 countries where women and children will not be taking a break to enjoy large dinners because they live with the conflict of war around them."

Vigils at Baltimore's Inner Harbor at Pratt and Light streets, and on Fairmount Avenue at the north entrance to Towson Town Center, will start at 10 a.m. and last about an hour. Two other vigils, one in Westminster in front of the public library on Main Street and another in Frederick at 5600 Urbana Pike near the Francis Scott Key Mall, will be held from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

People who take part in the group's vigils wear black as a way of mourning those who have died because of war. About a thousand people lined Charles Street on the first anniversary of Sept. 11 carrying peace signs, some expressing antiwar messages.

"We think there is a positive effect of what happened from the Peace Path and that women are concerned and want to be part of shaping the peace process," Cunningham said.